If you have a food or beverage product and want to sell online, it can be difficult to know what your priorities should be. Should you start with a website or invest in photography first?
While there is no one right answer, it can be helpful to consider the purpose of each investment and how they support your overall business plan.
Branding
If you’re selling packaged goods, branding is the obvious first step in starting your online business. Intentional brand design has the power to determine how much success your business can achieve and is the foundation of all your marketing efforts. It’s worth it to invest in strategic branding!
Branding helps food and beverage brands stand out in a crowded and competitive market. With so many different options available, consumers need a way to differentiate between products and make informed purchasing decisions. A strong brand identity can help your products to stand out on the shelf and in the minds of consumers.
Branding can also help food brands establish trust with consumers. A well-known and respected brand is more likely to be perceived as reliable and trustworthy, which can encourage consumers to try new products or continue to purchase from the brand.
Lastly, branding can help food brands communicate the values and mission of the company. For example, a food brand that emphasizes sustainability or health may use branding to communicate these values to consumers. This can help build a loyal customer base of people who align with the brand's values.
Media
Once you have your newly branded product in hand, the next best step is to use your budget to get quality photos and videos of your product. The benefit of spending your budget here is you'll have media to use to sell offline and online.
When asked what visual elements they value on a company website, 40% of consumers said images, 39% said color, and 21% said video. (Top Design Firms, 2021)
People “eat with their eyes”, so when you’re selling online you need to make your product as visually appealing as possible. Potential customers can’t smell or see your product like they can in stores. It’s important to use high-quality images that can accurately represent the look, texture, and flavor of a food product, which helps potential customers make informed decisions about what they want to purchase.
In addition to using the images on your website, media can be used in sales decks, on social media, and in retail stores.
Platforms like Soona make ecommerce product photography easy. Simply ship them your products for a virtual photo shoot and buy your favorites.
Copy
At this point, you might feel ready to create your website. Copy is a “nice to have” as it can be optimized later. However, if you have the budget, it’s often helpful to invest in cohesive conversion copy first so the web design supports the copy.
This ensures that your brand messaging and story is displayed throughout the site and that key features and benefits of your product are highlighted.
Food is often tied to emotions and memories, and good copy can help a food brand tap into those emotions and create a deeper connection with consumers.
Website
Finally you’re ready to build your online store! In today's digital age, a good website is essential for any business, including food brands.
Your website is your storefront, and with a good strategy, can be a sales-generating machine that turns browsers into buyers. Even if your website isn’t supplying the majority of your sales, it’s important to nurture it as a tool to connect with customers and tell your story. See more reasons why your food brand should sell online.
Ready to create the website of your dreams? Reach out for a custom quote.
